Looking to Closely
by FangedLovers
Summary: "The truth is like blood underneath your fingernails. You don't wanna hurt yourself by looking too closely." Stiles/OC 5X03-04-05 'Tried & True Series'


Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Wolf; only Cassidy and the world surrounding her.

Looking To Closely - Fink

Outfit on Profile

 **Is anyone else utterly obsessed with this new season of Teen Wolf or is it just me?**

 **Anyways, what up my lovelies!**

 **Thanks to everyone who read/reviewed/liked and all that stuff for Hell & Back!**

 **So this story is based on 5X03-04-05 so SPOILERS AHEAD IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE NEW EPISODES!**

 **Welcome Back to Cassidy Snyder's World!**

* * *

 **Looking To Closely**

 _Put your arms around somebody else_  
 _And don't punish yourself, punish yourself_  
 _The truth is like blood underneath your fingernails_  
 _You don't wanna hurt yourself_  
 _By looking too closely_

 _And I could be wrong about anybody else  
So don't kid yourself, kid yourself  
It's you right there, right there in the mirror  
You don't wanna hurt yourself  
By looking too closely_

Punch, punch, kick. Punch, high kick, back kick. Upper cut, chest kick, side elbow.

You name the combination, Cassidy worked on them over and over again. She had been training for at least 3 hours by now. She started with stretching, moving on to stamina, gun control, and now finally strength training. Repetition was something that Braeden had burned into her head and movements.

She had been at it nonstop the past few days, wanting to get back into the habit full force. Liam and she had actually started training more together, but now she was on her own. It was helpful for the both of them.

Her phone started ringing from the table across the room, finally something that broke her concentration. She took a deep breath and wiped the sweat from her brow before making her way to the annoying device. She watched Lydia's face flash upon her screen

"Yo." She breathed heavily into the phone, letting her body fall to the ground in a sitting position.

"Just because you're dating Stiles again doesn't mean you're vocabulary has to suffer." Lydia's annoyed tone rang through the phone line.

Cassidy sighed, falling back so that her back laid against the cement floor. "Hello, Lydia. What can I help you with?" Her voice turning more proper than before just to irritate her best friend.

"Where are you? You were supposed to be helping Malia drive with Kira and me."

"Shoot." She slapped a hand over her eyes. "I totally forgot."

"Obviously, because you aren't at your house."

"Is she not coming? Did she change her mind on this friendship thing?" Cassidy could hear Malia talk from somewhere next to Lydia.

"Tell Malia to calm down, I just forgot. Can you come pick me up please?"

"Where the hell are you?"

Cassidy assumed the three girls were getting into a car as she heard what she thought was car doors shutting. "I'm at Derek's building."

Lydia sighed and started the car. "Alright, we'll be there soon."

She ended the call and let the phone fall onto her chest. She knew she had been making her friends worried lately about the amount of time she had been spending at the loft, but she was doing it all in good nature. All of her thoughts had been healthy, but she understood why they would be concerned about it. So she would show them she was okay, because that was the best thing to do.

Cassidy pulled herself off the floor and started putting her equipment away. As she was fixing the items on the table, the smallest handgun wasn't leaving her sight. Maybe it wouldn't be too bad to just keep it with her for safety. She wanted to be able to take care of herself and this was a start. She made sure the gun was secure and placed it safely in the inside pocket of her bag.

Checking her surroundings one last time, she closed and locked the door behind her before skipping down the staircases. She exited the building and walked under the car port until she found herself at the street curb. Her shoulder felt extra heavy from her bag from the sheer thought of the gun nestled against her hip. But she knew it was just all in her head.

Bright headlights caught her attention from the left. Cassidy watched the car pull down the street and stop in front of her. She opened the back passenger door and slid into the seat next to Kira.

"Sweet car, Malia." Cassidy complimented, strapping into her seat belt.

"Thanks." The girl turned around from the passenger seat. "I still don't understand why my dad thought I should get it."

"Happy you got into Senior Year present?" Kira shrugged her shoulders with a smile that was almost always present on her lips.

"Probably."

"Shouldn't you be driving?" Cassidy looked back and forth from the werecoyote to the banshee that was currently driving the car.

"I figured we could start out on the back road." Lydia took a turn to the right. "There shouldn't be that many people out at this time of night."

"So what were you doing at Derek's?" Kira's eyebrows falling together in question at her friend sitting next to her.

"Just training. Lots of training."

Lydia sighed. "And she's been doing it nonstop."

"It's all been healthy practice, Lyds. I promise." She really wanted to make sure her friends understood that she was doing everything the right way this time.

"We'll she's not lying." Malia commented, looking out the window.

Lydia pulled over to the side of the road, putting the car into park and turning it off. "Ready?"

Malia only nodded before the two got out of the car to switch seats. The two got in and buckled up their seat belts.

"Alright, Malia." Cassidy leaned forward slightly in her seat. "First things first, check all your mirrors to make sure you have a clear shot behind you." Malia did as she was told, moving each mirror so that they were in a perfect direction for her.

Kira nodded with a smile. "Okay, hands on the wheel at 10 and 2."

"Actually the recommended position is now 9 and 3." Lydia pulled her long locks out of the seat belt. "At 10 and 2 a deployed airbag could break your thumbs."

"Mine would heal." Malia mentioned.

"Save your strength. And try not to destroy your beautiful new car." The red head pulled Malia's hands down on the steering wheel. "9 and 3."

Cassidy sat back in her seat, trying to get comfortable. "Just take things slow and easy. And most importantly, remember to breath."

Malia nodded and turned the car on. She put the car into drive and slowly pressed down on the gas pedal as they started rolling down the road.

"Alright, just ease into it." Kira stated. Malia stayed slow going down the road, actually staying on her side. "Good, good. Okay, there you go." She cheered on her friend.

"Please shut up." The drive stated.

"No problem. Shutting up."

Cassidy giggled slightly and patted the girl's leg. But the good driving didn't last too long. Malia started swerving across the road, slowly driving straight into the grass on the other side of the road. "Other way." Cassidy told her, but that didn't change the way the wheels were running. "Malia, other way."

"We are now off the road." Lydia stated. "This is off the road."

But she didn't stop, she actually started to gain more speed if anything.

"Malia, please go the other way." Kira's voice was high pitched in fear of where the car was going.

A loud beeping noise started coming from the dash, letting the girl's in the car know they were coming up to an object in their path. "What is that!" Malia cried, still driving in the grass. "What is beeping?"

"The car's telling you not to run into the tree." Lydia was ready to grab the wheel if need be as they came closer and closer to the tree in their track.

Cassidy was holding on to the door handle, white knuckling it. "For the love of God, Malia, turn the wheel!"

"Malia!" Kira squealed, the car just missed it as Malia finally turned the wheel. "And try to stay on the actual road." Well, she did stay on the road this time, but was literally driving in circles. "Okay, sure…uhh, this is called a U-turn."

"Cassidy said to turn the wheel." Malia said, like she was surprised they were wondering why she was doing it.

"And clearly we are taking things very literal now." Cassidy leaned forward to try to figure out which way was straight. "How about trying to going back to driving straight down the road?"

"And maybe press a little harder on the gas." Lydia held on to the side of the car, getting dizzy from circle after circle. Kira and Cassidy held on tightly to the seats in front of them as the car started speeding now down the road. "Okay..turn up here!" The wheels squealed against the street as Malia turned hard around the corner. "Slowly, slowly."

The ride was a lot of speeding and braking, swerving and turning sharply. If Cassidy thought she was sweating a lot during training earlier that had nothing on how nervous she was right now being in this car.

"Anybody want to tell me where we're going?" Malia looked back into her rearview mirror and then back to the road in front of her.

"The school." Lydia attempted to swallow. "We can finish with parking practice in the lot."

Cassidy and Kira both took notice to the route they were taking and then looked at each other in confusion.

"Lydia, we're actually heading downtown." Kira told the girl upfront.

"What?" She asked, looking around her.

"If we want to go to school, we should do a U-turn, shouldn't we?" Cassidy questioned.

Lydia was silent for a few seconds. "No." Her voice soft with almost fear. "Keep going."

"You sure?" Malia asked, driving for the first time in a semi-decent way.

"Yes…we're almost there." The Banshee had her feeling.

After a few more turns they found themselves under the bridge way, where a police van sat in the underpass. The four girls hesitantly got out of the car, walking forward to the scene slightly. The back door was open and there was a man, bloody and almost dead, on the ground in front of it.

Lydia swallowed hard. "Call 9-1-1."

Not long after Kira called, the police and EMTs showed up on sight. They blocked off the area and Parrish started taking the girl's statements. Cassidy watched as Stiles and Scott showed up, walking past them quickly to where the Sheriff was at.

"So, you guys literally just found them here?" Parrish asked again.

"No, gieger counter of death over here knew to come." Cassidy nodded her head to Lydia that was standing next to her. She knew Parrish was still learning things, but she was just annoyed the situation. Of course it was that kid Donovan that got away. Of course it was the same person who had it out against the Sheriff. Surprise surprise.

Lydia glared over at her in irritation by her words. Cassidy rose her hands in defense and took a step back from the group, almost running into Scott as he took off away from the scene. She watched as the two Stilinski's walked over towards the group.

"You good?" Stiles gently pressed a hand to the small of her back.

"I'm fine, that over there…not so fine." She nodded her head in the direction of the van.

"You sure? You look pale."

"Probably from Malia's driving." Cassidy looked up at him through her lashes. "Any idea what happen?"

"They think it was Donovan, but I'm not buying it." He rubbed his chin with his other hand, thinking things over.

"Theo?" She questioned, reading the look on his face, and he nodded.

Parrish's walkie-talkie started coming through as static. "Scott, is that you?"

"Yeah. I found Donovan." Scott's voice crackled through the speaker. "He's completely freaked out and keeps saying some name."

The Sheriff grabbed the device from the deputy. "What name?"

"Theo." Stiles whispered, expecting to know the answer that his best friend was going to say.

"Tracy." Scott said instead. "He keeps saying Tracy."

"Tracy who?"

"Stewart." Lydia put the pieces together. "Tracy Stewart."

* * *

After spending literally almost all night looking for Tracy the pack came up empty handed. They literally searched the entire town and nothing. Getting home at 3 A.M. just is not what was wanted to get and go to school the next day.

"Uugggghhhh."

Cassidy looked down at Stiles whose head was laying in her lap. She simply rolled her eyes at the sleepy boy and drank more from her coffee to-go cup. They were stationed in his jeep in the back parking lot by the field. She was sitting in the back seat with Stiles laying across the seat in her lap, while they waited for the rest of the pack to show up.

"I hate mornings." Stiles' voice was a mumble as he buried his face into her sweatshirt. "I hate school. I hate Tracy for running around like a crazy person killing people. And I hate the fact that we are not in bed right now sleeping this nightmare away."

"That's quite the list of hate you got going on." She ran her fingers through his hair.

"It's longer, I'm just too tried to go on with it."

"I told you to get some coffee."

"I refuse to succumb to your caffeinated ways."

"And those energy drinks you guzzle down are just so much better for you." Cassidy rested her head against the side window, her eyes falling closed.

Stiles groaned again and wrapped his arms around her waist. "I'm too tired to come up with a witty comeback, please try again later."

"I win." She smiled and continued to play with his hair.

"Only for the time being."

"Whatever you say, handsome." Her voice was light, her head somewhere between sleep and awake.

Stiles finally opened his eyes to look up at the drowsy girl who he loved. He grabbed her hand that had been playing with his hair and held it close to him. His fingers grazed across her skin until they felt the ridged skin that was surrounding her wrist. He lifted it up above his face to see the light pink scarring from the handcuffs Travis had held her with. If this is just what her wrists looked like what mark was left of her side. His thoughts turned towards something that he had stuffed in his backpack, waiting for the right moment. He pulled himself up into a sitting position grabbing his bag, gaining her attention through heavy eyelids.

"What's up?" Cassidy sat up again, looking out the windows but still didn't see the pack anywhere in sight.

"Nothing." He shrugged and held the item up on his finger.

Her eyes widened at the bracelet. It was the gold chained bracelet with the crystal pendants that he had originally given her the night of their anniversary. She smirked, pulled her sleeve up and showing him her wrist. "What are you waiting for?"

Stiles just gave her a small smile and clasped the charms around her skin.

She leaned in to give him a short kiss before falling into his body, her head nestling in the crook of his neck. He wrapped his arms around her tightly, his hand tracing up and down her back. "I love you, pretty girl."

"Hmmm, say it again." She whispered against his skin.

"I love you." He placed a kiss on her forehead. "I love you. I love you. I love you." He left kisses all along her face.

She giggled and pulled herself even closer to him if possible. "We're disgusting."

"Don't care."

A loud knocking on the front window had the two of them jump up from their position. They looked over to see Scott standing outside the jeep along with the rest of the pack. The two pulled themselves out of the Jeep, the group taking their places around the front of it. A face that took her by surprise was Mason who was standing next to Scott.

"You told him finally?" Cassidy whispered to Liam as she stood between him and Lydia.

"It was kinda inevitable." He shrugged.

"Okay, so Tracy. Lyd didn't you say she was having some sleeping problems?"

Lydia shook her head. "Trac, wasn't just having trouble sleeping. It was a real disorder, it was night terrors."

"Yeah, well now she's the night terror." Stiles leaned against the front of his jeep. "Especially since no one can find her."

Scott walked forward so he could look over the entire pack. "Okay, I know we're all tired and miserable." His attention was taken over by Mason who was standing there with a smile and excitement written across his face. "Expect for you."

"Oh, I'm sorry. This is all just mind blowing." His enthusiasm wasn't rubbing off on anyone else though. "You're a kitsune." He pointed at Kira. "I don't even know what that is."

"I'm still learning." Kira shrugged.

"Liam, we said you could tell him, not invite him to the inner circle." Stiles grumbled out at the beta.

"I-I-I'm in the inner circle?" Mason's eyes widened.

"No." Stiles and Liam both retorted.

"Guys!" Scott regained the attention of the group. "Look, back to Tracy. She's just one lone wolf. We can find her."

"One lone serial killing wolf." Malia stated.

Stiles shook his head. "No, no. She only killed one person. The other two were mauled."

"Well, what are we supposed to even do when we catch her?" Cassidy stuck her hands deep in her hoodie pocket.

"I say we put her down." The werecoyote stated like it was no big deal.

Each of them glanced over at the Alpha, wanting to see what his response would be.

"Intense." Mason muttered.

Scott was starting to get annoyed that that was even an option. "Guys, lets concentrate on catching her first. We'll figure out the rest later."

* * *

The next time Scott McCall says the words 'we'll figure the rest out later' Cassidy was going to give him a very, very dark glare and a smack on the back of his head. Tracy had showed up all werewolfed out and shit in Liam's history class. But that wasn't the only problem. After she killed her father the night before, she went psycho crazy and killed her psychiatrist. Scott, Malia, and Stiles took her to Deaton to try to figure out what was wrong with her, Liam and Mason went to talk to Brett to see if she was part of his pack by chance, and Kira, Lydia and herself decided search through Tracy's room.

"I think we've been in more crime scenes than the new deputies in this town." Cassidy fiddled with the yellow crime scene tape that was across the bed.

"And get paid next to nothing for it." Lydia called out from the closet she was searching through.

"More on that nothing side." She looked up at the sky light in the ceiling. Everything about this room just did not sit well with Cassidy.

"Hey, look at this." Kira called out to the two. She had a box set on the bed with a dreamcatcher in one hand and a card in the other. " 'Remember, Tracy Bear, it only works if you believe it. Hope this helps. Love, Dad.' This is beyond depressing." Kira read the card as the two girls stood on either side of her.

"He was just trying to help her." Lydia sighed.

"Why would she go after him like that?"

"I guess…she wasn't in control of herself."

"But it wasn't even a full moon." Kira shook her head, trying to make sense of it.

"Maybe a werewolf with night terrors is worse than a full moon."

Cassidy stood on the other side thinking over everything as the two girls talked it out. Something about this stood out to her so well. "Wait…we've seen something like this before."

"When?" Kira asked, allowing Cassidy to take the dreamcatcher out of her hand to look at it.

"Back when Jackson was being controlled with the Kanima." Cassidy looked past to where Lydia was standing. "He had no idea what he was doing, it was like he was sleep walking during his killing sprees."

"So you're saying Tracy's a Kanima?" Lydia asked.

"I'm just saying that things are very similar, expect for the fact that for the most part Tracy was remembering the things that were happening to her." Cassidy shrugged and dropped the dreamcatcher on the bed.

"You know, there are cases of people who accidently murdered their entire family while in a night terror. They had no idea what they were doing." Lydia explained to the both of them. "It's called homicidal somnambulism."

"So if Tracy's killing people she doesn't really want to kill," Kira looked from either side of her to the two girls, "she might not actually be awake."

"She's still in a night terror."

"But how is she deciding on who she's killing?" Cassidy walked over to the big window on the wall to look out at the dark sky.

"There has to be a connection." Kira agreed and started pacing the floor, while Lydia looked at the random drawing that were littering the walls. "Okay, wait a second. Her dad was trying to help her right?"

"So was her psychiatrist." Cassidy ran a hand through her hair.

"Maybe that's why she was at the school."

"She was looking for someone else who was just trying to help?" Lydia asked.

"Yeah…No, maybe it was you." Kira called out, getting both girls to turn towards her in shock.

"Tracy was coming to kill Lydia?" Cassidy walked over towards the two again.

"Or not." Kira quickly back tracked what she said.

"No." Lydia's eyes searched the ground, her obvious thinking face. "You're right. I was trying to help but…so was someone else. My mother." The three girl's felt their mouths go draw at the thought. "What if Tracy went to the school looking for her?"

"Where is she now?"

"On a date."

"With who? Where?" Cassidy rushed around to grab her things. Like hell something was going to happen to Ms. Martin.

"The Sheriff."

"Wait, What?" Cassidy stopped so quickly Kira almost walked straight into her.

"She was meeting him at the station." Lydia rolled her eyes and kept walking. "Let's go."

They drove so fast. So fast that the three girls barely had any time to really think about what they were going to walk in on, but that was nothing new around them. As they were pulling into the parking lot, Cassidy checked her bag to make sure the gun she had put in there last night was still there. As the two girls ran out of the car, Cassidy quickly stashed the gun in her waistband and ran after them.

Lydia pulled the doors open, finding the Sheriff and her mother on the other side. "Mom, she's coming! Tracy's coming for you."

"What?" Ms. Martin looked at her daughter like she was crazy. "What do you mean for me?"

The noise of a low growl, followed by the sound of claws got their attention. Looking up at the ceiling, there was Tracy, hanging upside now with a tail to boot. Growling at them, she was showing off her teeth along with eyes that changed into slotted yellow eyes. The same eyes and body of a Kanima. Cassidy was right.

The Sheriff started shooting at the creature, hoping to slow it down. Tracy flipped off of the ceiling, hitting the gun out of his hand and cutting him with the venom. "Kira! Look out!"

Kira had pulled her belt katana out in defense mode. The two had a standoff, Tracy and Kira both prepare to tackle each other's loses. Cassidy pulled the gun out as the two began to fight in the middle of the station. She stood near Lydia, surveying the room, the deputies and sheriff were all paralyzed. She looked over to see Ms. Martin hiding behind the corner, not knowing what to do.

"Mom! Run!" Lydia yelled, flattening herself against the wall.

Cassidy ran over to her, making sure she was hidden behind her. "Ms. Martin, get out of here now!" Cassidy held the gun ready in case Tracy started her way over to them. Just as she finally got the older woman to move, Tracy started spinning. Before any of them could realize what was happening, the Kanima tail was pierced in Lydia's side.

"No!" Cassidy screamed as she watched her friend fall to the floor. Something literally took over her body. She shot at Tracy twice, hitting her in the leg, but it barely even slowed her down. "Kira!" She yelled at her friend that was standing on the desk ready to fight. Cassidy ran over and kicked Tracy hard in the chest, sending her flying backwards. Kira, whose Kitsune spirit was in full force surrounding her, came flying down, cutting the tail off of Tracy.

Tracy took off but Cassidy had no concern as her knees connected with the linoleum beside Lydia's body. She dropped the gun next to her and immediately started putting pressure on the wound. Lydia let out a shuddering breath, Cassidy didn't know if she couldn't move because of pain or the venom had spread through her body.

"Lydia…j-j-just breathe." Cassidy stuttered out, her own body becoming numb from terror. "Kira." She looked up finding her other friend, who came to fall on the other side of Lydia. "We-we have to get her out of here."

"No." Lydia whimpered out. "My mom."

Kira looked around finding a trail of blood leading to the back of the station. "She went back there."

"The basement." Cassidy stated, knowing the station far too well because of her boyfriend. Her eyes were trailing from Lydia, to the blood, to the sheriff still paralyzed on the floor. "I'm going to go get your mom."

"Cassidy…you'll get hurt." Lydia's voice full of tears.

"I'm going to save your mom, Lyd. I'm going to get her. Kira, put more pressure on her side." Cassidy stood up, Kira taking her place.

"Cassidy." The sheriff called out to her from his spot. She walked over to him, kneeling by his side. "Don't do this."

"I'll be fine." She gave him a smile, hoping to ease his fears along with her own. "I can do this."

He sighed, knowing he had no chance of stopping her once her mind was set. "Take my gun, it's more powerful." She nodded, wiping the blood of her hands on her jeans and grabbed the gun that was laying there. "And whatever you do, Cassidy, don't hesitate for you own safety."

"I will."

"Be careful."

She gave him another smile, squeezing his arm in reassurance before standing up and started to follow the blood trail. She looked back one last time at Lydia laying there, bleeding out on the floor. Lydia gave her her own calming smile. "I'm fine."

Cassidy nodded and turned away, running around the office. All her senses were heightened, trying to hear anything. She took quiet steps down the stairs, hiding behind the wall when she heard the low growl. She looked around the corner to see Ms. Martin on the floor, who seemed to be knocked out with Tracy hovering over her. She took one more deep breath before showing herself.

"Tracy." She called out, trying to get to the girl. "Tracy, you're awake." The kanima growled at her, before flinging Ms. Martin out of her way. Cassidy pulled up the gun in front of her, holding steady just like she was taught. "This is all real. This is happening."

Before she could do anything, Tracy was coming at her. Cassidy ducked down and spun around her body to the back as the kanima's claws came swinging at her. With Tracy's back still to her, she got her own leg between the two, knocking out her knee to make her fall flat on her face. It barely did anything as she flipped over on her back and jumping back up. It was hard enough fighting a supernatural creature, but she had to pay extra attention to the venom laced claws.

Tracy's arm swung out, smacking Cassidy's own, having he gun go flying out of her hand. As Tracy continued to attempt to claw at her, Cassidy was blocking each blow with her forearms. But before she knew it, the kanima had grabbed a good hold of her arm, twisting it around, and threw her across the room. Cassidy's back hit the wall and landed down on the cold concrete a few feet away from Ms. Martin. She looked up at Tracy as the girl started her way over to her. She needed to figure out an option fast, because her gun was across the room.

Another loud growl echoed across the basement as Malia stood at the entrance, blue eyed and all, ready to fight. Tracy's attention was shaken away from Cassidy as the two supernatural beings began to fight each other. Cassidy sat with her back against the wall watching the two battle. Malia gained the upper hand, sending Tracy to the ground, getting a hold of her arms and pinning her with her knee. The two began to slowly turn back into their normal forms; Malia standing up and Tracy looking around confused, not understanding how she got there in the first place.

"Tracy?" Malia called out to the girl. "Tracy, look at me." She tried to calm the girl down who was moving backwards in fear. "You're not dreaming. This is real." Malia looked over quickly to Cassidy to see if she was doing this right. Cassidy gave her a nod to continue. "All of this is real. You get it? You get that? You're not dreaming Tracy."

"What's happening to me?" The poor girl asked. But they couldn't even give her an answer.

Out of the blue came these people dressed in masks. One of them injected Tracy in the neck, another held Malia forcefully against the wall, and the third one stood over Cassidy menacingly to make sure she wouldn't move. And she didn't. She was terrified. Whatever what was in the syringe made silver type of blood start pouring out of Tracy's mouth.

"Her condition is terminal." One of the masked, steampunk looking people, breathed out.

As Tracey's lifeless body fell to the floor, the three things walked away. They just left the rest of them alone. Cassidy looked over to see Malia sliding down to the ground, tears in her eyes as she looked at Tracy. They couldn't save Tracy and now there were these strange masked people walking around Beacon Hills.

"Malia?" Cassidy's voice was so low that she didn't know if she could even hear her. "Are you okay?"

"What were those things?" She answered, obviously hearing the question.

"I…I don't know. I have no idea." Cassidy pulled herself into a kneeling position. Her back felt ridiculously sore from the landing earlier, but she need to get Ms. Martin awake and see how Lydia was. "Ms. Martin." She shook the woman over and over, hoping for her to regain consciousness. "Ms. Martin, wake up." After a few more good shakes the older woman started to wake up. "Ms. Martin you were knocked out, but you're okay." She watched as her eyes were gazing around the room quickly.

"Lydia. Where's Lydia?" She sat up hastily.

"She's upstairs."

Ms. Martin quickly stood up and started out of the basement, barely even looking at Malia or Tracy. Cassidy went to follow, but noticed Malia was still in the same spot. "Malia?"

"You go." Her voice was still in a heavy whisper.

Cassidy simply nodded and ran up the stairs. Her heart beat was pounding in her ears as she nearly ran straight into Scott at the door of the main office. He was talking to her, but she couldn't comprehend what he was saying. She was looking down at the ground expecting to see Lydia, but only found a trail of blood.

"Are you okay?" His hands gripped her shoulders gently, his eyes racking over her to see if there were any injuries.

"I'm fine. She's downstairs." Her eyes were glazing over at the thought of her dying best friend. "Where's Lydia?"

He nodded his head in the direction of the Sheriff's office. She pulled out of his grip and sped walked over, barely taking notice to the deputies, Deaton, or the Sheriff. She found Stiles standing in the doorway and then her eyes landed on Lydia. Kira, Theo, and Ms. Martin surrounded her. Cassidy's hands grabbed a tight hold of Stiles' sweater as she felt her legs almost give away. Lydia was getting paler and sweating more; the dark red blood seeping onto the floor.

Time turned into a blur. She didn't know how she got from the station to the hospital. At some point in the events of the night Deaton had moved Tracy's body to his office. But now Cassidy was hunched over in one of the hospital chairs, her knees pulled up to her chest, her hood up over her hair thinking she could hide into herself. Stiles and Kira stood across from her at the counter, while Malia sat a seat away from her and Theo adjacent to Malia. Scott went to pick up Liam, at least she thought that's what he said before he left.

Cassidy looked down to see her hands still stained in Lydia's blood and it was making her sick.

"Stiles." Melissa McCall came down the hallway from Lydia's room just as Scott and Liam showed up. Talk about timing. The group immediately surrounded the nurse, expect for Cassidy. She stayed in her spot, only listening.

"How bad is it?" Stiles asked straight away.

"Could have been worse. Theo, nice going on that tourniquet, you probably saved her life." Melissa nodded at the boy.

This got Cassidy to look up finally, glancing over at Theo and then at Stiles who was looking at the boy with some type of annoyance yet appreciation. The same way she felt towards him.

"Alright." The nurse looked around at them in the circle, finally eyes landing on her son. "She's about to go into surgery, so it's going to be awhile. Any other supernatural details that I need to know about or do we just stitch her up and hope for the best?"

"It was the tail." Kira stepped up.

Scott nodded. "Tracy cut her with the tail, if that makes a difference."

"Okay." And with that, Melissa was off to down the corridor.

"But it wasn't just Tracy." Malia wanted her point to be known, and most importantly want them all to believe her. "There were the others. The guys in the masks." She glanced over at Cassidy, wanting her to agree with her.

Cassidy just looked down though back at her hands. Honestly, she hadn't even thought about those things since she saw them. She was too concerned about Lydia right now to worry about new creatures in this town. That probably made her selfish in some way, but she was going to take it.

She felt a body sit down next to her and an arm wrap around her shoulders. She looked up to see Liam and immediately curled into him.

"You okay?" Liam needed to know how she was doing more for his own reassurance. Things that had happen a few months ago still freaked him out, and he didn't want to see her get that way again.

"I will be once I know Lyd is okay."

* * *

Things that didn't happen in hospitals, despite what people think; No one whispered. Like ever. Even when they thought they were whispering, the surrounding area might be too quiet so that those quiet conversations could be heard across the room. Another thing, the actual hospital rooms weren't the only ones that had beeping in them. The intercom system was always beeping some sort of codes or people talking over it. And finally, finding a bathroom for visitors that wasn't being used for outpatients came slim to none.

But then again, hospitals were not places people ever came for comforting atmospheres.

At the moment Cassidy laid across three of the horribly, uncomfortable plastic chairs, staring up at the ceiling. Melissa had stolen away a blanket and pillow for her since she had been stationing herself beside the desk that she works at all night. But Melissa had now since started her second shift, taking on more supernatural issues that Scott was bringing to her attention. From what she heard between her and Scott's conversation through her sleep dazed brain, there was another supernatural hybrid. A chimera as they were calling them who had went after Liam, Mason, and Brett. Fantastic.

But in all honesty, she had very little care in the matter at the moment. Cassidy had officially been in this hospital for over 24 hours. They had told her the surgery went fine and that she was now resting. But she still wasn't allowed into the ICU because she wasn't family. She really, really, REALLY hated that rule. She had attempted to bribe Melissa, Parrish, and Ms. Martin to let her in but no such luck happened.

The pack had went home last night, Stiles only left kicking and whining that he didn't want to leave her alone, but Scott finally got him to walk away. Her thoughts had been anything but pleasant, but luckily enough for her she carried around her weekly pill box in her bag in case of anything. Once she heard that Lydia was going to be okay, her mind had been playing through the scene of the people in the masks. They were like nothing they had ever faced before. The quickness of them had her almost thinking she was seeing things, but Malia was there too. The two girl's witnessed the death of Tracy by an outside force.

They couldn't save her.

But then her head moved towards her actions. She had shot at Tracy twice. She had hit her twice in her leg. Cassidy didn't want to kill, she just wanted to wake her up. But it was still the first time she had ever actually shot at another person. Braeden told her the first time was always the hardest, but it should all be in the right order. Never use a kill shot unless it is quite literally the last possible thing you could do before your own death was impending.

"Cassidy, go home."

Said girl broke from her thoughts, her head turning to see Ms. Martin walking down the hallway from Lydia's room. "Not until, I know she's okay." Cassidy sat up, bunching the blanket up in her lap.

Ms. Martin sat down beside her with a heavy sigh. "I've told you a million times today, she's fine. The surgery went great."

"And yet she's still in ICU. I'm not leaving until I get to see her to know for sure."

"Would it get you to go home and sleep if I told you she was about to be released?"

Cassidy bit her lip, wanting to keep up her act, but that was making it harder. "Possibly."

"And your parents probably want you home." The mother crossed her legs, attempting to get comfortable herself on the plastic chair.

"They know I don't leave my friend's side until I know they are okay. And they've already called me like 5 times."

The two sat quiet, side by side, for a few seconds. The thoughts of last night running through both of their minds.

"You know," Ms. Martin cleared her throat, "I have no idea what happen last night, but what I do know is that you put your life on the line for both Lydia and myself. One thing I've always wanted for Lydia is to find a group of people that she could fully be herself with. I know the divorce between her father and myself didn't play out well for her and I know she was having problems with who she was in school." The older woman became quiet again, trying to get the words right. "I'm just so happy she has you and the rest of your group. You've really helped her."

Cassidy nodded and smiled softly. "She's helped me too. More ways than you can believe."

Ms. Martin grinned at this. "Go home, Cassidy." She patted the girl's leg before getting up and walking back down the hallway.

The girl sighed before getting up. She folded up the blanket and placed it and the pillow on the desk that was empty at the moment. She grabbed her bag, taking one last look down the hallway, before trudging her way out of the hospital. It must be her lucky night, because the bus was driving towards the stop just as she was walking out. She jogged over and hopped inside, throwing her change in the machine. She took one of the back seats away from the only other two people that were on given that it was the last bus of the night.

She didn't want to go home though right now. She didn't want to be alone right now at all. She wanted comfort from a pair of arms that could calm her down. She pulled out her phone, dialing Stiles number, keeping quiet in the back.

"Hey, you still at the hospital?" Stiles answered the phone, his voice kind of groggily like he just woke up.

"I'm finally leaving, just got on the bus. Lyd will be released soon." She let her head rest against the cool glass pane. "You home?"

"I'm actually at the Library at school. Trying to find anything about these masked people you and Malia saw. And after too many hours, still nothing." He groaned heavily, she could hear him slamming a book closed.

The two were quiet, just listening to each other breath. They took everything between them as a luxury; including the silence.

"Stiles?"

"Yeah, babe?"

"Do you think I could stay the night with you?" Her voice was so light, it barely got past the phone.

"Of course. I'll meet you in the parking lot by the jeep."

"See you soon." She grinned and ended the call. She watched as the city lights zoomed by them through the window. She was at some type of peace for just this moment in time. She saw the school coming up in her view. She got off the bus and started her walk over towards the parking lot. Something was off. She found the jeep but the hood was up and Stiles was nowhere in sight. She picked up the duct tape that was sitting on the tire well but didn't see any new pieces on the engine itself.

Cassidy pulled out her phone and dialed his number again. It kept ringing in her ear as her head whipped back and forth trying to find her boyfriend anywhere in sight. Getting his voicemail, she shoved her phone back in her pocket. She remembered he said was in the library so she thought that maybe he was still there. Instead of walking through the school, she decided to take the path around the side. Every noise she heard at her head turning every which way. She was silently kicking herself for forgetting her gun at the station, but she knew the Sheriff would take care of that for her.

As she drew closer to the entrance she heard yelling coming from behind the doors. She ran full force at them, grabbing the doors and yanking them but realized they were locked. Her actions became frantic as she ripped through her bag trying to find her keycard. Finally, she swiped the card and pulled the door open. The sight before her made her mouth go dry. Stiles was climbing up the top of the scaffolding from the working crew while Donovan was below him, grabbing a tight clutch of his leg.

"Hey!" She yelled loudly, grabbing Donovan's attention. This gave Stiles enough time to grab ahold of the pin at the top and pull it out. She screamed loudly as she watched the metal bars fall, turning away quickly so she didn't have to see anything horrific happen. The atmosphere around her became quiet, she cautiously turned back around to see one of the bars sticking through Donovan's chest as he was propped up from the floor.

Her breathing began to quicken at the sight, but her eyes casted up to Stiles who was looking down at him as well. As he started to climb down the scaffolding she walked over towards the scene. Donovan was still alive though, he was attempting to breathe or speak, but blood kept sputtering out. Stiles grabbed a hold of the bar ready to pull it out, but that's when Donovan stopped moving, his body went limp and his eyes glazed over.

Stiles and Cassidy stood side by side, staring at the boy. A metallic substance started pouring out where his blood stopped. It was the same type of liquid that came out of Tracy. Her eyes finally left the body and looked up at Stiles, his eyes watering and his breathing becoming erratic. This was a different situation they have ever been put into, and they needed to get out of here.

"Stiles." Her voice was soft, laying her hand gently on his shoulder. He jumped under her touch and a pained groan ripped form his throat. She watched him confused, then looked down at his blood that was on her hand. "What the hell happen?"

"H-He…ugh.." Stiles moves were irregular and she could tell he was on the verge of a panic attack. "He was a Wen-wendigo. B-b-but he had teeth on his hand." He was gripping his own shoulder, his eyes not leaving Donovan. "He was coming after me…he wanted to kill me." He looked down finally, his body becoming jittery. "And I killed him."

"No." She shook her head, grabbing a hold of his shirt so there was no room between their bodies. "Stiles, this was self-defense, okay? You did not shove that bar through his chest." She looked up at him trying to meet his eyes, his own head had fallen down to his chest. She needed to be the rational one in this situation for once. They needed to get out of here, because even though he didn't actually do it, all signs pointed to Stiles. And no one was going to believe that a Wendigo was trying to eat him alive. "I'm going to call 9-1-1."

"What?" He finally looked up at her with eyes so wide.

"I'm just going to leave a traced call and then we're going to get the hell out of here. Can you do that?"

He simply nodded, losing his voice again. She didn't want to, but she let go of him and stepped over towards the phone that was hooked up on the desk. One last deep breath, knowing after this everything would change, she picked up the phone and dialed. As the operator asked for her emergency she stayed quiet, covering the speaker with her hand so nothing ran through their end. As she heard them talking on the other end about them sending a car out to the school, she hung up. Now they only had a few minutes left. She turned back around to see Stiles still standing there looking at the body.

"Stiles, babe, we've got to go."

He nodded, shaking off his hand and walked over towards her. The two jogged over towards the door. Cassidy pushed the door open with her hip, making sure she didn't use the hand that was covered in Stiles' blood the same way he was doing. He grabbed a book and placed it in the doorway, so that there was a way for an outsider to get in that didn't have a keycard. Just as they were about to go a buzzing noise came from the body.

"My phone." Stiles whispered, the two looking at the glowing coming from Donovan's pocket. "He's got my phone."

Cassidy waited at the door as Stiles ran back over carefully grabbing it from his pocket. He hesitated again, and as much as she wanted him to take a moment and calm down, they needed to get the fuck out of there. "Stiles, let's go."

He turned back around to her voice and they left. They ran for all they had making it to his Jeep. Cassidy got in the drive seat while Stiles played with things under the hood. She turned the key when she was told and thankfully the Jeep came to life. She pulled herself over into the passenger side as he jumped in behind the wheel. He turned the lights on and Cassidy thought he was going to back out but he just sat there; breathing heavy and drumming his thumb uneasily on the wheel. She could see the gears rolling over in his head and she didn't know what to do for him.

The sound of sirens began making their way into the air and that was making Cassidy's entire demeanor turn into a complete anxiety mess. "Stiles, we need to go."

He didn't answer her. His breathing only becoming heavier and his movements slower somehow. Out of nowhere, he turned the lights off, put the gear into reverse, and backed up so they were beside the dumpster. He parked the car and turned the engine off just as the cop car came rolling through the parking lot. He was hiding them. If Stiles knew anything, it was how to work around the police.

The two sat watching the events unfold. No words, just thick breathing between them. As the cop got out of the truck, they lowered themselves down in the seat, out of his view as if it was just a deserted jeep in the parking lot. Stiles sat back up to look out as Cassidy stayed low. It was like they knew each other's roles immediately of what to do. Just like they always have.

She closed her eyes, trying to get her breathing back in order. But as she listened to him next to her panic more she felt her own heart beat faster. Her eyes snapped open as she heard him breathe out the word "No" over and over again. His eyes were thick with tears and his hand tapping excessively on the steering wheel. She leaned over and gently pulled his hand away from the wheel, interlocking their fingers tightly. He seemed to focus more of his energy on her skin against his.

Their joined hands fell down in between the seats as a type of life line amongst the two.

Stiles pulled himself back down in the seat again as the cop came back out of the school. He turned on the police scanner that was on his dash to hear what he was saying.

"Dispatch, I'm 10 97 and there's no one hear." Stiles and Cassidy both looked at each other confused. "It's a 6-5-3." "Roger that, prank call. Return to your patrol."

"How?" Cassidy whispered, still looking at Stiles.

He shook his head in disbelief. They watched as the cop drove off, waiting a second, and then the two jumped out of the Jeep, running back to the library. But what they saw was not what they left.

There was nothing.

No body. No blood. No mess. Nothing.

All of the bars and what not were stacked up on the side like they were supposed to be placed there. Stiles ran a finger down one of the bars though, blood that hadn't been completely cleaned up.

"This happen right?" Stiles turned around to her so quickly she had to back up so he wouldn't run her over. "This all happen?"

She nodded her head quickly. "Yeah…it happen."

The two looked around one last time but there was no clues on to what had happen. They finally headed back to the Jeep and this time actually leaving. How could he be gone? Was Donovan still alive? Did someone take the body? What the hell was happening in this town?

They finally made it to the Stilinski house, silent as ever. The mood surrounding them was very soft and static. She followed him up the staircase. Each step was heavier than the last. She was waiting for him to actually fall backwards any second with Cassidy trying to figure out how she would be able to catch him.

"You head to the shower, I'll get you clothes." Her voice was a faint whisper. But she knew he heard her from the small nod of his head. He turned to the bathroom and softly closed the door behind him.

Her eyes stay glued to the closed door, utterly worried about the boy on the other side. She refused to move from the hallways until she heard the water turn on. She was constantly waiting to hear a thump on the floor and was ready to run through the door to get him if she needed to. She finally heard the shower turn on and took that as her cue to keep moving.

Entering his bedroom felt different than any other time for some reason. She pulled his dresser drawer open but was stopped by the sight in front of her. For the second time in 24 hours her hands were covered in someone else's blood. She attempted to rub it off but it as stained on to her skin. None of this was sitting well with her but she needed to keep her head up for the boy in the other room.

She grabbed clothes for him and herself to change into and turned on the light that sat on his desk. She walked back to the bathroom, cautiously opening the door. The steam form the shower hit her immediately. Cassidy knew he always liked his water extra hot to the point whenever she would shower with him in felt like fire licking at her skin.

She couldn't see much through the foggy glass but she could make out his outline. His hand was pressed against the tile while he stood under the stream of water, head down, letting it beat against his head, neck, and back.

His demeanor reminded her of weeks after the events of the Nogitsune, where he was constantly in a battling depression about the events that had occurred in his body. At that point she would sit with him and give him constant reassurance, but this was different. This whole situation was a brand new territory they had never touched before and she had no idea how to help him.

But she was not going to walk away.

* * *

 **AHH! So Stiles and Cassidy are like the new Bonnie and Clyde. I could get on that train lol.**

 **Have fun watching the new episode tonight!**

 **Please Read. Review. Follow. All that stuff! And check out my tumblr for more updates!**


End file.
